The present invention generally relates to an armboard assembly. More particularly, the present invention relates to an armboard assembly for attaching an accessory, such as an armboard, to a patient support, such as a surgical table.
For hand, arm and shoulder surgeries, an armboard or a hand table is attached to a mounting rail of a surgical table. It is known to attach an armboard to a surgical table so that the armboard is adjustable in a horizontal plane about a vertical axis. It is also known to position the armboard in a selected vertical position relative to the mounting rail and in a selected horizontal position along the mounting rail. Two examples of armboard assemblies are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,972,505 and 5,135,210. Both these references are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety to establish the nature of such patient supports and such adjustable support assemblies.
It is desirable to provide an armboard assembly that gives the armboard multiple degrees of freedom so that a patient""s arm can be supported during a shoulder surgery in a natural position. The illustrative armboard assembly of the present invention includes a lockable first joint coupling an armboard to a support arm, a lockable second joint coupling the support arm to a mounting post and a lockable third joint coupling the mounting post to a mounting rail. The first joint is configured to permit movement of the armboard along the support arm and configured to permit movement of the armboard relative to the support arm about a first plurality of axes. The second joint is configured to permit movement of the support arm relative to the mounting post about a second plurality of axes. The third joint is configured to position the mounting post in a selected vertical position relative to the mounting rail and in a selected longitudinal position along the mounting rail.
Although this invention is described in the context of attaching an armboard to a surgical table, it is equally applicable for attaching an armboard to a surgical chair or stretcher. So the term xe2x80x9csurgical tablexe2x80x9d as used in this description shall be understood to mean any type of patient support, such as a surgical table, chair, stretcher or a bed.
Additional features of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a consideration of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.